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FAA releases an AD for Pratt & Whitney's geared turbofans

Washington, D.C. - On Sept. 9, the US Federal Aviation Administration has published an airworthiness directive proposing airlines to check Pratt & Whitney's some geared turbofans.

The directive came after an investigation for two in-flight engine failures last year due to oil leaks from PW1500G and PW1900G engines that power the Airbus' A220s and Embraer's E2 series jets respectively.

The directive refers to the risk of oil leaking from the oil supply tube and the fuel oil cooler that are located between the two engines.

The U.S. regulator said the directive was issued to prevent the risk of fire and damage to the planes.

The issue was already addressed by the manufacturer in service bulletins that were released earlier this year.

The bulletins provide detailed information about the procedures for modifying or replacing the fuel air coolers and oil supply tubes of the affected engines.

The recent AD from the FAA requires the US airline operators to inspect the PW1500Gs and PW1900Gs for the addressed issue within 300 engine cycles and conduct additional checks within every additional 850 cycles.

Pratt & Whitney's other geared turbofan (GTF) variants have also suffered oil-related problems affecting PW1100Gs that power the A320neo family jets.